Evening Star Newspaper, May 21, 1933, Page 73

| R g SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 21, 1933. ! J A THE PROPAGANDA MENACE. By Frederick E. Lumley, New York: The Century OCo. HE very title chosen by the professor of sociology at Ohio State University arouses the interest of many who have been annoyed by obvious propa- ganda and stirred to suspicion and then reseatment by the more camou- flap=d varieties. Propaganda is recognized by Prof. Lumley as & powerful and baneful social force. In the writing of this book, he likens himself to & collector of rubbish of all soris from a stream, who lugs his_treasures achore and then sorts them in a quiet cove. “The stream is the unmeasured- flood of pub- licity in modern soclety. I am the collector. The flotsam and jetsam are propaganda.” He has investigated the chief sources, nature, vol- ume and menace of propaganda, and gives many different definitions, all having the same general content. One of the best is that of E. K. Strong: “The word ‘propaganda’ means es- sentially the spread of a particular doctrine or system of principles, especially when there s an organization or general plan back of the movement. * * * Propaganda differs from ‘edu- cation,” with which it is purposcfully confused, in that in the case of the former the aim is to spread one doctrine, whereas in the case of the latter the aim is to extend a knowledge of the facts as far as known.” Perhaps this defini- tion gives a clue to some of the propaganda against the support of public education. Ome chapter is & brief summary of propa- ganda in the past, and we are assured that propaganda was not an invention of World War years, and that Germany was not the “arch-propagandist.” Propaganda existed, in very queer forms, among primitive peoples and among the early ecivilizations of the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans. People are in all periods dependent upon experiences communicated by others, as their own are insufficient for knowl- edge. Absolutely reliable reporting is therefore of the utmost importance. It makes a great difference to individuals who gives them their information, so it is “the veiled propagandists” who mislead and should be discovered. An ex- ample is given of the Washington headquarters of a national organization stimulating 250,000 messages from constituents to two United States Senators from one State. The methods of propagandists have, of necessity, been changed in recent years, and the radio and the movie have replaced the public meeting, which most people now refuse to attend, just as mamy re- fuse to read printed circulars. Interesting chap- ters are those on propaganda and industry, politics, war, patriotism, race prejudice, educa- tion and religion. After Prof. Lumley's thorough discussion of this vital subject, and in view of the alarm the growth of prcpaganda all over the world causes those who believe in the use of reason and the right to the knowledge of facts, it gives some reassurance to know that there are “limitations on propaganda,” namely, laws restraining propagandist activities and the unpredictable reactions of the public when propaganda overplays its game. Propaganda is baced on the theory that “man is a puppet, a clod, a boob, a yokel, a brute,” and sometimes man surprises the propagandist. The final chap- ter is on “Some Suggestions as to Remedies.” ONCE UPON A TIME AND TODAY. By Maud Nathan. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. N a former book, “The Story of an Epoch- Making Movement,” Mrs. Nathan told of the organization of the Consumers’ League and its work in bettering the conditions of factory labor. She has been an active worker in con- nection with many reform movements, among them the woman suffrage movement. The fore- word to this present book is by Carrie Chap- man Catt, who says of her: “A busy life she has lived, a heroic life of achievement. The wcrld today is an utterly different one from that she found when, looking out upon it tim- idly in her youth she made her first choice between the claims of the ‘new woman’ and the resistance of the old order. In the struggle that wrought the change Mrs. Nathan was a forceful, dependable, always helpful battler for the right.” In her first chapter Mrs. Nathan tells of her ancestry and, reading it, we do not wonder at the determination, energy and con- trolled direction of her life. Her ancestors, Spanish Jews, victims of the perseeution of the Inquisition, went to Holland, England, and, . finally, to the Dutch cclony of New Amsterdam. In September, 1654, a band of 23 Jews came pver on the St. Charles. “Surely the descendants of these Jewish Pilgrims are entitled to con- sider themselves 100 per cent Americans equally with the descendants of the May- flower Pilgrims,” Her maternal great-grand- father, Gershom Seixas, was a rabbi and a vigorous patriot, who protested against taxa- tion without . representation and offered a prayer at the inaugural ceremonies of George Washington. Judge Cardozo of the United States Supreme Court is a great-great-nephew of this Rabbi Seixas. This autobiography of Mrs. Nathan des- cribes in its early part the domestic and social life during the 60’'s, 70's and 80's of an ortho- dox Jewish family of traditions, education and culture. Later it is concerned with the social service activities of Mrs. Nathan and her ac- quaintance with many persons prominent in public life, including Theodore Roosevelt, whom she aroused to Interest in the work of the Consumers’ League by taking him on a tour of some of the sweat-shiops of New York, But underneath and beyond these two lines of in- terest is her picture of changing New York. In the 70s she went to a school on Fifth avenue, when “no shopkeeper” had dared to desecrate the dignity of those rows of ‘brown-stone fronts'” and when it was not unusual to see a coach and four rolling along on its way to Central Park. She was married at 17 to her first cousin, Fredeiick Nathan, in his thirties, the “Fairy- .VV Menace of Our Propaganda, as Seen by a Professor of Sociology—A New Novel by Charles G. Norris— Other Late Books. Prince” of her story. Her trousseau, which in- cluded dozens of every article, was bought at A. T. Stewart's and Arnold, Constable’s, “There were no bloomers, no step-ins, no brassieres, no pajamas!” But there were many petticoats, both flannel and muslin; long chemises, cor- set covers, high-necked, long-siceved night- dresses, a bustle and two shawls. Her first home was, of course, a house. There were no luxurious apartments, and “flats,” usually made from remodeled private houses, had no great dignity. As the story progresses, we/see New York changing, very rapidly it seems, until today, at the age of 70, Mrs. Nathan says: “I have covered some of the great changes of the last 50 years. * * * It makes no difference whether we be 60, 70, or 80, life still holds new interests, new possibilities.” GREAT WINDS. By Emest Poole, New York: The Macmillan Co. E N AN earlier novel of Ernest Poole (recollec- tion not perfectly certain says “The Ava- lanche”), & nerviously distraught man finds peace and restoration in his native New Hamp- shire hills. The same situation occurs, under entirely different circumstances, in “Great Winds.” John Blake, author, returns at 50 to his old family home in New Hampshire, after many years of wandering about the world, try-. ing “to comprehend the quaint and solemn antics of diplomats and politicians” and finally turning from governments “to see. what was happening to - plain people in their homes.” From the author's experiences in foreign coun- tries and from his comments on books and readers, as well as the fact that he is about to write a book to be called “Great Winds,” we are probably justified in thinking that he is more or less Ernest Poole himself. While he plans his book, he wonders who will read it, as he thinks of the hordes of excellent people who still think “Rex Beach is a Sum- mer resort,” of all those others who “can stand only cheery little tales,” of the vast multitude of “wise-crack lovers, lapping up froth as cats will cream,” and of those “more widely read and sophisticated cynics, who give their ap- proval only to books that show forth the life of man as the enchanting progress of a worm to a manure pile.” In the long, low, white frame house where he was born, remodeled artistically and reverently by his brother, the famous architect, Gilbert Elake, the author is jolned after some weeks by the architect. Gilbert Biake, architect of some of the great towers of New York, owner of two handsome houses of his own designing in New York and Newport, is a haggard, harassed man, the vic- tim of the financial depression combined with too much family. His demanding and spend- ing second wife, who in spite of her complete absorption in herself has managed to fascinate him, and his three children by his first marriage all overwhelm him with their clamors for money to satisfy their needs and desires. They are leeches fattening on his supposed prosperity, and no one of them gives a thought to the burdens of the elderly man or ‘considers that the depression may have hit him. In the end one son, Ned, has an awakening and is able to render some small return for all he has received, uneasily ashamed meanwhile as he recalls his past demands. Ernest Poole writes of real life, so not every- thing is rosy, but he believes in life and in humanity, though there are so many units of it which he despises, so his story ends with hope. The philosophical author brother and the softly colored Autumn woods and hills of New Hampshire do much for Gilbert Blake, and some of his burdens liquidate themselves. We feel sure that he will find again “the soul of his work through the fires of catastrophe.” So, Ernest Poole seems to say, after the “‘great winds,” the storm of the present time, will come clear skies, a bright world. His under- lying thought is expressed in his quotation from Edna St. Vincent Millay following the title page: “Faith it is that keeps the world alive.” ZEST. By Charles G. Norris. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Co. HE monosyllabic and smybolic titles of Charles @. Norris undoubtedly arrest attention at the start and are later found to fit fairly ade- quately the large-scale themes of his physi- cally large books. In “Salt” he attempted a critical estimate, through his story, of our schools and colleges, our national system of education. In “Brass” he investigated marriage, why it is so often difficult, or impossible, for two peofe to get along together. In “Pig Iron” he considered our industrial system, with its materialistic influences. In “Bread” he presented the problem of the woman in busi- ness and we recall that one objection he found to the business woman was that she was less likely to remain with an unsatisfactory hus- band than a dependent woman. In “Seed,” a novel of last year, birth-control was the sub- ject. The title “Zest” is ironical. The weak, pleasure-loving man selected for the place on the center stage, Robert Gillespie, may have sporadic spurts of zest in life, but the net re- sult is dust and ashes. Under the wrapper design and frontispiece, by Rockwell Kent, Mr. Norris has placed a quotation irom the Old Testament Book of Isaiah: “And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man.” Isaiah was denouncing the wickedness of Judah and Jerusalem and the remainder of the quo- tation is: “Saying, we will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.” If applied to present-day life, there is irony in this, when so many women are retaining their own names after marriage. However, Mr. Norris’ point, contained in the first part of the quotation, is developed in the course of the novel. Bob Gillespie is susceptible to feminine in- fluence to such a degree that he is buffeted through lifé according to the ascendency of the different women who “take hold” of him, without any firm direction on his own part. If he had married his first love, dowdy, serious Dixey Nugent, his classmate in the university, his life would have been less exciting but more stable. But after one call on his mother (one of the woman who “take hold” of him), Dixey knew that she would not be allowed to marry him. He recovers easily, though he often has questioning memories, When he marries Pene- lope, niece of a rich aunt, he understands that the aunt is to finance them, for his small salary of $160 a ‘month is insufficient for the satis- faction of their tastes, to“say nothing of their needs, but Pen understands that his mother is to finance them. Unfortunately neither of the relatives has an understanding of the part assigned to her, so the young couple are faced with the necessity of a $25 a month apart- ment in the city instead of the artistic bunga- low in Berkeley or.Burlingame which they want. His mother, his two wives, his daughter, his women friends and finally his mistress all domi- nate his life and leave him unhappy. Bitterly reflecting, he cannot see that he has ever been to blame, Perhaps not, for his weakness of will is fundamental, but it is certainly not inherited from his mother. It seems a minor point to criticize, but his weakness of vocabulary which causes the frequent use of “Gee,” “Gee whili- kens,” “Gosh,” “Golly,” and “My God,” is irritating. Altogether “Zest” is a novel which holds interest by its abundance of action and fluent writing. The background and characters are thoroughly modern. TUNCHI: By Carl Liddle and David Thibault. New York: The Century Co. NTO the.Ecuadorean jungle Mr. Liddle went, after adventure, for he is young and after knowledge, for he is alert. He has brought out from the jungle a rather unusual and beauti- fully written tale of adventure and love, whose setting is among the head-hunting Jivaro Indians of the Oriente of Ecuador, a seldom visited part of its forest wilderness. The hero of the story goes into the jungle to search for Maxwell Raynes, researcH chemist with the United Fertilizer Co, who has absconded with a few thousand dollars of the company’s money and, more important, a chemical formula. The young man in the advertising department, who has been made emissary- detective, leaves the railway at Riobamba, with a guide, eight carriers, a muleteer and a de- crepit mule. He is soon in the country of the head-huntérs and most of the characters are drawn from these Indians—not by any means “wooden Indians.” They have varied personali- ties +nd play the parts of real human beings as the adventures of the story rapidly unfold. Rarely accurate knowledge of the Jivaran In- dians is shown by Mr. Liddle, according to some who knowy more of South American In- dians than the present reviewer. The adventures introduce us to tribal feuds, war- fare "among Indian tribes and half-breeds, witcheraft, encounters with winged ants, head hunting, capturing and shrinking for preserva- tion, and a romantic love affair with a head- hunter princess, Tunchi, for whom the story is named. When the hiding chemist is discov- ered the young agent has a task less to his Uking than jungle adventures. The denouement tells us how he handles it and also what he does about Tunchi. In its atmosphere and its Indian princess “Tunchi” recalls W. H. Hudson's “Green Mansions.” THEY BROUGHT THEIR WOMEN. A Book of Short Stories. By Edna Ferber. New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co. ISS FERBER has left behind her the period of the American short story and its hangover of traditions, when the short story was “the hot pancake of literature.” Its tech- nique was always the same—‘“the same deft potring of the batter, “the same expert jerk, the same neat flip of the wrist at the end.” Her theory of the short story is that it should record fundamental human emotions, which are changeless. Some dramatic moment or some commonplace day in a life may reveal a personality and its fundamental motives to any one who has the acuteness to observe. It is such moments and days that Miss Ferber has chosen for her eight stories. Seven of the stories are limited in time to 1 day of 34 hours. “Hey! Taxi!” is the day of Ernest Stewig, taxi driver in New York City, a day so full of bore- some and harrowing events that when he goes to bed at & late hour he wishes, sleepily, that he could go West, where there is scwme life and something happens. “Wall Street- '28” shows not an exciting boom day, but just the day of Cass Condon, stock broker; his wife Hilda and his secretary, Miss Rosen., “Fraulein” is the day off of a German nursemaid in the family of Carlton Schurtz, wealthy New York business OH man, who was born above a butcher shop i Brooklyn. “Keep It Holy” is a Sunday in th§ life of Linny Mashek three weeks after has come to New York from the home of parents in Hartford. The title story, the end of the book, is an interesting satire, beginning: “Muriel is a name you trifie with. She herself was like that.” fore Muriel goes to Mexico with her h on a business trip to take good care of i though he has told her that she can't poesil go and that the firm will not pay her Miss Ferber’s appreciaticn of the m:’yp'a of New York life, from that of the taxi dri to that of the millionaire, recalls O. Henry, her metheod of treatment is quite different his—-less episodic, less dramatic, more analytical, V TWELVE FAMOUS PLAYS OF THE RESTOws RATION AND EIGHTEENTH CENTUR Introduction by Prof. Cecil A. Moore of ¢ University of Minnesota. New York: Th@ Modern Library. ) URING the Puritan Revolution and the Cromm wellian age, the London theaters closed, actors suffered hard times, and pleasure-loving were obliged to seek se sccupations in harmony with the prevailing of the period. When Charles II came to throne in 1660, to the joy of the faithful herents of the House of Stuart, the pursuit pleasure again came into its own. The th ters were opened and additional splendors the way of costuming and scenery were vided. Dramatists wrote plays of exu fancy and of wild sensationalism, without an of the dignity and restraint of the ear theater. The introduction to this volume, Prof. Moore, gives the theatrical history of period, with some criticism of the dramsa general and of individual writers. The pl wrights whose plays are selected for reprin are Wycherly, Dryden, Otway, Congreve, V: brugh, Farquhar, Gay, Garrick, Goldsmith Sheridan.. Two plays each of Congreve Sheridan are given and one of each of others. The Modern Library, by the publicag tion of this book, does a service to all whi enjoy going back occasionally to earlier and adding to their knowledge of the life . those periods through the drama written f BALANCED EMPLOYMENT. By L. S. Ohads wick. New York: The Macmillan Co. THE author of this book of practical econ (whether workable or not is a different tion) has been salesman, foreman, superin ent, general manager, president of manufi turing companiés, and writes from experience. His opening statement will be accepted by all who have given any to the present economic situation: “During past two and one-half years of business sion I have gradually arrived at the co: that we, as a people, have progressed so and almlessly that we have succeeded entangling ourselves in a mass of detail so fusing as to cause us to completely lose sense of direction. It seems to me as it is about time for some of us to get back simple basic facts. * * * The purpose of book is to attempt to explain, in simple wordd that are understandable to all, a few of the simple basic laws under which we live and also to clearly show just why it is n to improve our economic laws at the sal that we expand our standards of daily life. The central idea of Mr. Chadwick—his gestion for the securing of balanced ment—is the control of labor hours, the unemployed, at the same rate per o would/ he believes, improve the situation. is not a new idea. We have heard a good about it of late under the caption of the hour day and the five-day week. Some of Chadwick’s comments on other gquestions epigrammatic. “The great national pastime America is the game of getting into debt. “Labor, the most important word in the lish language.” “Depressions are certainly innovations.” “The green-eyed monster Fea§ is our greatest depression-maker.” L ~ Books Received NON-FICTION. y THE UNIVERSE OF SCIENCE. By H. levs New York: The Century Co. THE BANKING CRISIS: The End of an By Marcus Nadler and Jules I. Bogen. York: Dodd, Mead & Co. AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORW, By Erik McKinley Eriksson and David Neleog Rowe. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. THE COLLECTED VERSE OF LEWIS CARm ROLL (The Rev, Charles Lutwidge Dodgsom)y, New York: The Macmillan Co. THE SPANGLED HEAVENS. An Introductiofg to Astrcnomy. By Lawrence Edwards, Philadelphia: J. B, Lippincott Co. LINCOLN AND THE DOCTORS. A Medica) Narrative of the Life of Abraham Lincoln, By Milton H. Shutes, M. D. New York: The Pioneer Press. FORESTRY ALMANAC. 1933 Edition. Comes piled and edited by the American Tree Assow ciation, Washington, D. C. SUNWARD (Verse). By Tom Sweeney. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. TEACHERS' SALARIES AND THE COST OR LIVING (Pamphlet). By Walter OCrosby Eells. Stanford University, Calif.: Stanford University Press. A NEW SOCIAL ORDER (Pamphlet). By Wale ter Lippmann. New York: The. John Dag-: Co.